Whether it is being seduced by the lovely smells of bread wafting through a bakery, or waking up in the morning to the enticing smell of homemade bread, you really can’t beat that feeling.  I have enjoyed making bread for some years now, and even though I have made countless loaves, each time still brings a sense of satisfaction.

So what is the secret to making the perfect loaf of bread?

At first, it will take trial and error to make that perfect loaf, but the more experience that you get making your own bread, the easier it gets. Making bread involves firstly sourcing high quality ingredients and then applying the correct techniques at each step of the process. Off course, if you own your own bread maker, it gets a whole lot easier since your machine will do most of the hard work for you.

Essential Bread Making Tips

I have provided below some essential tips to help you get started with your bread making. There are several key factors that come into play to ensure that you give yourself the best chances of making that perfect loaf. Two important factors include selecting the right type of flour or combination of flours, and also understanding the magical properties of yeast.

Different Types of Flour and Protein Levels

Each type of flour will have its own unique qualities and characteristics. One important characteristic is the level of protein in the flour. Gluten is an important property of flour, that in combination with yeast allows the dough to rise into a well leavened loaf of bread. Without the effects of the gluten and yeast, your bread will likely turn out as flat as a pancake!

The gluten is able to develop a network of strands because of the proteins which occur naturally in wheat flour. These networks of strands then trap the gases which are released by the yeast used. This is what causes your dough to rise nicely to create a well shaped loaf of bread.

Bread flour is the recommended flour to use for bread machine recipes as it contains a high level of protein. It may be okay to use all-purpose general flours but firstly check the protein level of specific brands as it can vary by a lot. You will find that some all-purpose flours have protein levels close to levels found in bread flour, whilst others with levels below 10% are more suitable for making cakes or pastries. For example, King Arthur All-Purpose Flour has a percentage of around 11.7% whereas the King Arthur Bread Flour has a protein level of around 12.7%. Both would be suitable for using in a bread maker.

As a general rule, the higher the percentage of protein in the flour, the more gluten the flour will contain.  For home baking in your bread maker, you should aim to use flours with a protein level of over 10%. Most bread flours typically contain a protein level of around 11% to 13%. The bakeries that produce commercial bread will generally use flour with a high protein level, similar to bread flours or higher.

Where to Purchase Good Quality Bread Flour

You can easily purchase bread flour from your local supermarket or from specialty shops that sell a wider range of flours and ingredients for bread making. It is best to choose more reputable brands of flour to ensure consistency with the quality of the flour. King Arthur is a well-known brand that is widely used by many bakers.

As you get more proficient at bread making, you will enjoy experimenting with the different ingredients available at specialty shops that you can purchase. You will start to understand how different types of flour have varying protein levels. For example, whole wheat flour will have lower levels of protein and not tend to rise as much as white flour.

The Magical Properties of Yeast

Above, I covered one important aspect of bread making which is to select the right type of flour. Bread flour or an all-purpose flour which has a protein level greater than 10% is a suitable flour that will meet this requirement, and allow the dough to rise adequately.

I will be covering the topic of yeast, a crucially important ingredient in bread making if you are planning to make leavened bread.

I like to think that yeast has its own magical properties, and it really certainly does. The story goes way back when as a child, I remember getting excited when my mother would have me pour the warm water to the yeast. She would tell me to watch the magical power that the yeast had as it expanded and changed its consistency. And it certainly did seem to have magical properties, especially as a child.

So What Exactly is Yeast?

Yeast is a living plant-like micro organism which belongs to the fungi family and is unicellular in terms of its biological makeup. There are literally thousands of varieties of yeast. Though for bread making, we need to make sure that we use the right strain of yeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the particular strain of yeast that is used as a leavening agent for making bread and other products which require the dough to be leavened. Baker’s yeast has different varieties such as active dry yeast and rapid rise yeast which are all used for bread making.

As the baker crafts his dough, he or she is aware that the yeast is a living organism which must have the right conditions in order to thrive and play its crucial role in bread making. In simple terms, the role of yeast is to ferment the sugar added to the dough. In the process of fermentation, carbon dioxide gases are given off. As the carbon dioxide gets trapped within tiny bubbles, this results in the dough rising. That’s how we get our nicely leavened bread with an airy texture.

Therefore the yeast must grow in the right culture to produce the gases required to create your nice airy loaf of bread. The right culture will be affected by factors such as the amount of moisture, the temperature and the acidity or ph level.

For the budding baker, it is important that you check the expiry date on your packet or container of yeast. If the yeast is too old, then it won’t be able to do this its job in the bread making process.

The process of checking whether the yeast is too old to use for your bread making is a method called proofing.

Proofing the Yeast

To check whether your yeast is too old, take a measuring cup and add ½ cup of warm water. To your warm water, add ½ teaspoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of yeast. The water should be at a temperature of over 40 degrees Celcius. Leave aside for around 10 minutes.

After returning to your experiment, if the yeast is still active it should have interacted with the sugar and foamed up to the upper level of your measuring cup. If it didn’t, then your yeast is too old, and it’s time to start anew by buying some fresh yeast.

In summary, choose an appropriate flour with a high level of protein – bread flour or an all purpose flour with a protein level greater than 10% is recommended. You will be starting out by using yeast as your leavening agent. If you think that your yeast is too old, apply the test above to proof your yeast.

Happy bread making!

You may also be interested in our article on The Quest for the Best Bread Maker.